Tips for sailing at Point Chev.

Start sequence run at Pt Chev is

5 mins Class flag, course direction, club pennant

4 min add blue peter (blue with white square) to above, sound hooter

1 min take down blue peter, hooter

0 all flags except club pennant down. Hooter Start watch to be kept going so you can record total elapsed times for all boats

0 or start of Class 1 is 5 mins for class 2 so class flag 2 goes up as rest come down. You may not get all the flags up at once for the second start but get the timing and flags exactly right at the 4 min mark.

Sailing in a classic NW breeze with a front and series of squalls. [GOOD FUN].

The prevailing wind is SW. On windy days with a front approaching it will tend to be a NW wind. We often get a series of squalls come across in bands about half an hour apart. The wind approaches survival conditions as the squall passes through.

Wind approaching with the line squall will be NW. Immediately after it has passed through it will most often be SW.

Then as the next one builds it gradually goes NW again.

When you are sailing upwind you can take advantage of this (opposite going downwind).

Go out to the port side of the course almost to the port layline.

You will point well on the NW breeze, so life is good.

Then as the squall is about to hit, TACK before it gets vicious, get yourself ready.

Now you can stay on port up to the mark. You wont have to tack in the high winds and you will get lifted by the SW breeze all the way to the mark.

Sailing in a SW breeze.

A steady SW breeze is the most common situation and it is really nice. Strategy is confused by some very strong tidal flows. An area of dead air near the shore can look tempting because it is also out of the tide.

Depending on whether the tide is coming in or out, the situation changes quite a bit. In a Southerly or near Southerly the course is somewhat parallel to the shoreline. There can be shifts and swirls near the shore, but if you are pushing the tide there is a place to be which is still reasonable breeze, but not too much tide.

My Tip; follow Colin Maddren. Failing that, make sure you have plenty of breeze and then try to minimise the tide by going as close to the shore as you can without losing the breeze.

 Beginners racing.

Often beginners will oversheet the main and point as high as they can. Sail will be set well, but the boat won't be going fast.

Experiment a bit even if you end up going really slow. As long as you do the exact opposite next time, you will eventually figure out how to go a bit faster.

Start by getting the boom near the aft quarter (quite a way off centreline) and sheeting with traveller or vang to get the woollies looking reasonable at all heights of the sail. 

Launching.

We have a number of buoys just out from the ramp. Tie your boat up to these while you return your trailer. These things make life so much easier.

 Sign out / in

Don’t ever forget to sign in / out. In a lot of national contests you will be disqualified if you break this rule, so it is a good habit to get in to. It is there for your safety AND at the PCSC there are prize draws based on it.

 Shoes.

It is dangerous out there, get some decent wet suit boots. My tip is the Ronstan ones sold by A Foster & Co. But any form of beach shoes will save you slicing open your feet on oyster shells, broken bottles and who knows what else.

 Hove to.

If you ease the main right out and you push the tiller right down to leeward, you should be able to get the boat to sit in one place, slightly sailing forwards and then sailing backwards in a banana curve about a single spot.

Once you have this mastered you can (more or less) ignore the boat and eat your lunch and have a drink between races and relax a bit so that you are re-charged for the next race.

Duty crew

Be ready to go on the water 30 minutes before the advertised start time. The first race starts at the advertised start time (although it may be delayed by a postponement if there is insufficient wind).

Usually there will a series of 3 races, which will be run back-to-back, depending on conditions.

The briefing time will be recorded on the whiteboard inside the Clubhouse.
Please note that Club members race for free, while visitors must pay a race entry fee of $10.00.

Notes for Duty Crew:

Please ensure that you perform your duties for your Club and turn up for those days on which you are rostered.

If you are unable to turn up on your rostered day please swap with another club member. If this is not possible please contact Don Oliver (phone xxx xxxx) or Ian Gavin (phone 846 1828) with sufficient time for alternative arrangements to be made.

Please contact Ian Gavin (phone 846 1828) make arrangements to collect a set of keys to the Clubhouse.
Bring your boat or board along if you are rostered on for duty. If you are not required to do anything then you will be able to sail anyway.

You will not be expected to start the races on your first day.

Make sure you wear warm gear specifically a woollen hat as it can get very cold. A thermos full of you favourite hot drink and some food is recommended and a weather proof coat. A wetsuit by itself is not sufficient without a windproof layer.

A pair of binoculars and a stop watch and a second watch with a sweep second is useful.